Iranian police target internet ‘licentiousness’

Iranian police forces have announced that they will confront and cleanse the internet and sites like Facebook to stop those who “promote prostitution and licentiousness” on it.

Commander Kamal Hadianfar, the head of the information, production and exchange police of the Islamic Republic (FTA), told ISNA on Tuesday: “Pornography is a crime not just in Iran but also in other countries such as the United States.”

He added: “In 2010, Facebook served as a free domain for criminals, but in the name of God and with the presence of the police over the past 15 months, we have made many significant moves to cleanse social networks, especially that of Facebook.”

He referred to the Puff and Duff page on Facebook with 27,000 members, saying: “The police have identified the users and destroyed their page.”

He emphasized that “individuals who try to create corruption on the internet will be referred to the morality police of the security forces.”

Puff and Duff is reportedly a popular Facebook page where Iranian youth share entertaining ideas.

Hadianfar claimed that four members of the Puff and Duff network were arrested for attracting 27,000 members by “promoting corruption and prostitution.”

The head of Basij Information and Technology, Mehdi Jafari, previously had said that despite the official blocking of Facebook in Iran, 17-million Iranians are part of the social networking site.

Iranian police have said that these social networking sites are under close observation by their forces and they have warned users that their photos and identities on Facebook may be used to create “obscene profiles.”

Iranian authorities refer to the internet as a tool used by the enemies of the Islamic Republic to wage a “soft war” against the system.

In recent days, a number of Facebook users have reported that their accounts have been hacked into by unidentified individuals.